Suspended acoustical ceilings are widely used. Ceilings of this type utilize panels marginally supported by a grid system the components of which are typically held suspended by means of hangwires anchored to overhead structure.
Hangwires of the type with which the present invention is concerned, are formed from lengths of wire bent in a manner providing a pair of arms substantially parallel which are typically of different lengths thus establishing a J-shaped preform. One wall of an L-shaped fastener has a hole through which one arm of the preform extends and its other wall carries a fastening element to be anchored in overhead structures. Two arms are twisted together to complete the hangwire with the fastener held loosely in the closed loop formed as a result of the twisting. Each component of the grid system has a lengthwise series of holes through which the longer arms of the hangwires are caught and secured to level and support the grid components in a wanted spaced relation to the overhead structure.
As the wire used to form the hangwires, while bendable, is rather stiff, a device is used to expedite the on-the-job production of the many hangwires each ceiling installation requires. One such device has a U-shaped mount with its closed end to be anchored by screws to a suitable work station. The shank of a hook exposed on the inner surface of one vertical wall constitutes a shaft which extends through and is rotatably held by that wall with its outwardly exposed end including a crank.
The other wall of the device has an upwardly opening slot in alignment with the shaft and dimensioned to accommodate the two arms of the preform. That wall is also provided with a ledge on its outer surface which underlies the slot. A hold down arm is pivotally connected to said outer surface adjacent one end of the ledge in a position to swing from a vertical position into and out of contact with the ledge.
With the closed end of a preform caught by the hook and with the hold down arm inoperatively positioned relative to the slot, the two arms of the hangwire are placed in the slot. The hold down arm is then swung into its operative position and manually held against the two arms of the preform while the crank is turned until the two wire arms are twisted together to the desired extent to complete the hangwire.
Such a device, while effective in forming hangwires, has objectionable features among which is that the hold down arm does not have a depending inoperative position and, in order to twist the two arms of the preform to the wanted extent, it is necessary to turn the crank through 360.degree. several times. In order to enable wire twisting to be effected without undue effort, the length of the crank arm is greater than the distance between the axis of the shaft and the closed end of the mount so that the mount has to be positioned on a support where the crank can overlie a margin thereof.